Extensible fastening



April 29, 1930. J. F. F. WINNING 1,756,775

EXTENSIBLE FASTENING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 11, 1927 1 07m 41flllomey.

April 29, 1930. J. F. F. WINNING EXTENSIBLE FASTENING Filed July 11.1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fmrepfar Patented Apr. 29, 1930 UNITED STATESPATENT,

JOHN FREDERICK FRANKLAND WINNING, OF HANWELL, ENGLAND, ASSIGNO R T0 JOHNFREDERICK FRANKLAND' WINNING, FRANCIS PERCY TOR-R, AND ALFRED HILTON,TRADING AS THE BAG FRAME AND COMPONENTS COMPANY, OF I-IOXTON,

ENGLAND EXTENSIBLE FASTENING Application filed July 11, 1927, SerialN'o. 204,950, and. in Great Britain May 6, 1927.

- or at least so that they are accessible from the exterior.

According to one feature of the present invention, a suit-case isprovided internally with means which permit the capacity of thesuit-case or the like to be adjusted to suit the volume of its contentsand which are independent ofthe fastenings provided for the lid.According to another aspect of the invention, the suit-case comprises amain portion, an intermediate portion open at both ends havingtelescopic engagement. with the main portion, a lid portion adapted toclose on the intermediate portion, and extensible fastening mechanismwhich is preferably arranged within the suit-case or the like and whichpermits the telescopic adjustment of the intermediate portion thereofwith respect to the main portion and permits the two portions to besecured in their adjusted position. In addition fastenings will beprovided for holdingthe lid in the closed position on the intermediateportion. For instance, the lid portion may be hinged to the intermediateportion at theback of the suit-case whilst catch or hasp devices with'or without key locks may be provided for the lid portion at the front ofthe suit-case. In orderthat the lid portion of the suit-case may closedown upon the main portion thereof the latch or lock preferablycomprises a latch member adapted to be secured to the downwardlyextending skirt portion of the lid ofthe suitcase and provided with aninwardly extendingmovable latch proper adapted to be operated however,from the front of the suit-case whilst the hasp portion of the latch orlock with which said latch proper co-operates comprises a shaped slot inthe wall of the intermediate or other portion of the suit-case which thelid closes, said slot being preferably reinforced, that is to say, inview of the fact that the materialof the suit-case is itself not ofsutlicient strength for engagement by the hasp in a slot formed therein,the material is cut away as necessary and the slot is actuallyconstituted by a metal member. Such arrangement avoids the necessity forcutting away parts of the main portion of the suitcase as would berequired if fastenings of the ordinary kind were employed.

A preferred form of the extensible fastening mechanism, which has awider application than in expanding suit-cases, is constituted asfollows, four exactly similar devices being preferably employed, namelyone disppsed in each corner of the suit-case or the lie.

Each device broadly-speaking, comprises 7 two members having telescopicengagement with one another one member being 1n the form of a rack orthe equivalent and the other carrying a co-operating movable detent orpawl. One member, preferably the rack member, is secured to the mainportion of the suitcase, whilst the member which carries the detent orpawl is secured to the intermediate portion of the suit-case. Means areassociated with the mechanism by which the detent or pawl can be causedto engage or disengage the rack member. Preferably the arrangement issuch that as desireda one-Way ratchet effect can be obtained or thedetent or pawl entirely disengaged from one another, or the detent orpawl positively held ,in engagement with the rack member.

To enable the invention to be clearly understood and carried into effectit will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings inwhich Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a suit-case with extensiblefastenings and latches or locks in accordance with the invention, theright-hand front corner of the suit-case being shown broken away toillustrate the position of the extensible fastenings, the suit-casemoreover being shown ,r

J reference to Figs. 8 inclusive.

'tion 9 of the extensible fastening has assoiii-a partly expandedcondition. Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation on a larger scale of thepreferred form of extensible fastening mechanism in accordance with theinvention. Fig. 6 is a sectional plan on the line VIVI of Fig. 5. Figs.7, 8 and 9 are views of details. Fig. is a View illustrating the certainparts removed and others indicated in dotted lines of the improved latchor look. Fig. 11 is a plan view illustrating the latch orloek shown'inFig. 10. Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the h'asp with which the latchor look illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11 co 'op'erates.

Referring first toFigs. '14 inclusive, .the suit-case thereinillustrated comprises in general the main portion -'1, the intermediateportion 2 and the lid portion 3. As will be clearly seen theintermediate portion 2 is open at both ends and telescopicallyengageswithin themain portion 1 which is open at the top. The lidportion 3 is provided in the usual manner "with skirtportions which inthe present instance are adapted to surround the intermediate portion 2when the lid is closed. The lid portion is preferably secured by meansof hinges 4L (Fig. 2) to the intermediate portion 2 at the back of thesuitcase Whilst the latches or looks indicated at 5 and to behereinafter described in detail are provided at the front of thesuit-case where also the handle 6 may be secured-to the main portion 1.n The preferred form of the extensible fasteningis indicated in generalat 7. Four exactly-similar devices are employed, one disposedin eachcorner of the suit-case, As

' previously herein set forth each device comprises two members 8 and 9having telescopic engagement with one another the former being securedat 10 to the main portion of the suit-case, whilst the latter is securedat 11 to the intermediate portion of the suitcase v(see also Fig. 5).The portion 8 is in the form of a rack whilst the portion 9 carries 'aco-operating detent or pawl which is not shown in any of Figs. 1-4inclusive, but will be hereinafter .describedin detail with Theporciated with it a member 12 by means of which the action of the detentor pawl can be controlled. At each end of the suit-case the pawl-contrc'dling members 12 are connected together by a link bar 13 for apurpose to be hereinafter described. r

The latch or look member 5 comprises in general a casing 14 adapted tobe secured in the wall of the skirtportion of the suit-case,

said casing 14 carrying a horizontally slidable and inwardly extendingmovable latch proper 15 (Fig. 11) adapted to be operated from the frontby means of a knob 16, whilst the hasp portion 17. (Figs. 4 and 12)comprises broadly speaking a shaped slot 18 pro: vided in the wall ofthe intermediate portion 2 of the suit-case. The hasp member 17 ispreferably reinforced, that is tosay, it actu-- ally comprisesa metalmember which is secured to the edge of the intermediate portion of thesuit-case. The latch or look casing 14 preferably contains within it keylock mechanism, a convenient form of which will be hereinafter describedby way of example more particularlywith reference to Figs. 10

and 11. I

Referrin now more .particularly to' Figs.

58 inclusive the extensible fastening mechanism will now be described ingreater detail. The member 9 is in effect tubular and receivestelescopically within it the member 8 which provided with the rackteeth, both members beingpreferably of square or rectangularcross-section to prevent them twistcorresponding shape in cross-sectionto the portion 9, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 6.

The portion 9 carries within 'it a slide member 7 '22 which is alsoprovided with *outwardlyextending iia-nges. 23, the member 22 havingless channel depth and width and fitting snugly within'the member 9 soas in effect partially to close the open side of the latter. The slidemember 22 is adapted to be fixed in position with "respect to the member9, for example, by means of rivets which pass through the flanges 19 and23 and secure these members to the intermediateportion 20f thesuit-case. Upon the member 9 is pivoted the detent 24- which is shownseparately in per spective and on a greatly enlarged scale in providedwith downwardly turned bifurcated finger 26 which is also provided witha downwardly stepped portion 27. At the other end'the plate 25 isprovided with a bi- .furcat-ed eye 28 betweenthe bifurcations of whichon the pivot pin is located a coil spring '29 which presses upon the topof the plate 25 and urges the downwardly turned fingers 26 intoengagement with perforations 30' pro 'vided in the face of the channel{member 8.

The perforations 30 are conveniently formed "by providing a plurality ofequally spaced transverse saw-cuts.

The portions between the saw-cuts constitute-the ratchet teeth whichSaid detent comprises a flat plate 25 channel member 22 being retainedtherein by means of tongues 32 which may be punched out of the materialof the slide 22 as indicated at 33 (Fig. The member 12 has a slenderfinger 34 terminating in a T-shaped extremity 35. The finger 34 passesbetween the bifurcated detent tooth 26 whilst the extremity 35 liesbeneath the fiat main portion of the detent 24, the arrangement beingsuch that when the member 12 is moved in the upward direction itsextremity will op- .erate after the manner of a wedge to raise thedetent as it passes beneath the stepped portion 27 of the latter. TheT-shaped extremity is bevelled as indicated at 36 so that it can rideunder the parts 27 without undue'friction. When the detent24 is, thusraised by the part 35 the teeth 26 are posiupon a pin 37 which isadapted to pass through perforations in both the members 9 and 22. y

The controlling member 12 is'further provided on either side of theslender finger 34 with two tongues 38 which are bent upwards withrespect to, but parallel with, the finger 34 which is in the same planevas the main upper portion of the member 12, said tongues 38 being sodisposed and arranged that when the member 12 is moved towards thedetent 24 they will slide over the portions 27 of the detent finger andthereby lock the detent tooth 26 into positive engagement with the rackprovided of course said finger lies be tween two rack teeth. Preferablyin addi-' tion to the tongues 32 for retaining the member 12 within theslide 22 two additional tongues 39 are provided which may also bepunched from the material of the slide member 22 and which extendinwardly in such position that they act as limiting stops for the detentand in addition as abutments for the tongues 38 when the detent islocked into engagement with the rack.

The operating member is provided with a central slot 40 within whichengages a projecting tongue 41 punched up from the material of themember 8 and extending through a corresponding slot in the member 22,the length of the slot 40 being such that when the members 8 and 9 movetelescopically outwards nearly to their full extent with reference toone another, which is only possible when the detent 24 is positivelyheld out of engagement with the rack teeth by the portion 35 of themember 12, the projecting tongue 41 will engage in the lower end 42 ofthe slot and move the member 12 downwards so that the detent is renderedfree, that is it is controlled solely by means of the spring 29.

The operating member 12 extends upwards beyond the end of the member 9and is piv otally attached at 43 to one end of the link bar 13, theother end of which is similarly attached to an identical member 7 in theadjacent corner of the suit-case as will be more particularly followedfrom Figs. 2 and 4.

The member 8 is provided with a bracket 44 rigidly secured to it andhaving flanges 45 which may be riveted at 10 to the main portion of thesuit-case.

Referring now to Fig. 12 in greater detail, the hasp member '17 isformed from sheet metal which is bent to the form of an inverted U andis secured to the intermediate portion 2 of the suit-case. (see alsoFig. 4) by means of rivets or otherwise so that the wall of that portionof the suit-case lies between the two arms 46 and 47 of the inverted U,

whilst the top portion 48 lies upon the top edge of the suit-case wall.The slot 18 comprises a sloping portion 49 which may be, for example, 30to the vertical terminating in a horizontal portion 50. The latch member15 is in the form of a stud having a head 51 which is adapted to enterthe slot 18 from the top for which purpose the portion 48 of the member'17 is provided with a widened slot portion 52 as clearly shown in Fig.12, to allow the head51 to enter it whilst the portions 49 and of theslot 18 are only of sufiicient width to accommodate the shank portion ofthe latch member 15. It will'be appreciated that the leather or othermaterial of which the suit-case is formed will be cut away in suchmanner that the head of the latch can freely co-operate with the hasp.

The arrangement'is such that when the lidv is turned down the latch willenter the hasp slot from the top, will move down the inclined portionagainst the action of the latch spring 1* and will finallyenter andremain held by the latch spring in the horizontal portion 50 of the haspslot.

The hasp 15 projects rearwardly horizontally from the lock casing 14which may be secured outside the skirt portion of the lid of thesuit-case, but is preferably mortised into said skirt portion. The latchmember 15 passes through'a perforation in a plate 53 (shown in dottedlines in Fig. 10 and in full casing '14 is secured to :the back'or boxportion thereof. Slidably disposed on the back of the lockcasing 14 is alocking bolt 58 having a slot 59 through which passes a pin 60 rivetedto the back. of the lock casing. Tongues 61 and 62 riveted to the backor" the lock easing provide, in conjunction with the slot 59 and pin 60,limited horizontal constraint for the 'bolt 58 which latter is providedwith a forwardly extending abutment 68, which when the bolt is in itsextreme left-hand position can obstruct the latch 15 against movement tothe right. Also mounted within the lockcasing between the bolt 58 andthe slide plate 53 is a lock lever member 64 which is pivoted upon therivet pin 60 and normally urged to rotate in acounterclockwise.direction'by means of a spring (not shown). The leveris of ordinary construction and 18 so shaped as at 65 that 1t can holdthe part 63 otthe bolt 58 in either of two positions as *will be readilyunderstood bythose skilled in the l'ocksmiths art. The lever 64 isprovided with a curved surface 66 which can be engaged and raised by akeyinserted through a key-hole 67 in the front plate otthc lock casing14. Thebolt 58 is provided with the usual indentation68 so that it canbe operated by the key when released by the lever '64. The latch-plate'53 is provided with a perforation 69 to permit the keyto be insertedinto engagement with the lock mechanism.

. Referring now to Fig. 9a slotted plate 70 is preferably secured, forinstance, by means of rivets71 to the intermediate portion of thesuit-casein the position indicated in Fig. 4, a channel 72 being formedin the wall of the intermediate portion for the reception of the head 73of a stud member 74 secured in the wall of the main portion 1 of thesuitcase. The arrangement ottheheaded stud 74 co-operating with theslotted'plate 70 will prevent the main portion of the suit-case beingpulled away from the intermediate portion thereof when the suit-case iscarried by the handle 6. It is to be understood however, that sucharrangement need not be employed it the main portion of the suit-casepossesses sufiicient strength to prevent any such tendency for themainportion to pull a vay from the intermediate portion.

1 A suit-case as above set forthand having four extensible fasteningdevices. as above described can-be used, that is to say,-expanded orcontracted as will now be described. Assuming that thesuit-case has beenadjusted so that itsvolume issmallest and itis desired to pack thesuit-case with articles such as clothing and hats, which it is desirableshould not be crushed, the lid is opened and the two link members whichare attached respectively to two pairs of operating members are engagedby the fingers of the two hands and pulled in an upward directionwherebyinstance that the latter now contains all that it is desired at thistime to carry and that the suit-case is not full, by merely pressingupon the intermediate member in a downward direction it can be caused totelescope into the main portion thereof, a one-way ratchet eii ect beingobtained, that is to say, the intermediate portion can be moved downwarduntil-it is estimated that the capacity of the suit-case has beenadjusted to suit the volume of its contents without thelatter beingundesirably compressed, the operating member occupying an intermediateposition. The link members can then be pressed so that the detentmembers engage the rack member thereby positively locking theintermediate member of the suit-case in its adjusted pot n An importantsubsidiary feature of the invention consists in so locating theoperating members 12 but preferably the link members 13 attached theretothat they will be engaged by the lid when in the closed position so thatin CZISG'OTE torgettulness the intermediate member will beautomaticallylocked in position when the suit-case lid is closed down.

It will be appreciated that with the ear-' rangement according to theinvention even if heavy weights are placed on the top of the suit caseas may occur during travel the contents of the box cannot be crushed byreason of the intermediate portion being telescoped further into themain portion. Furthermore, the extensible fastening devices beinglocated in the box will be protected against damage at all times.

It is to be understood that the suite-case or the like may be providedwith other forms of extensible. fastening mechanism than thathereinbefore specifically described and that such mechanism need not inall cases be lo cated entirely within the box. For the sake of example,a modified form of extensible fastening mechanism comprises twoteles'copic members and an extending spring of somewhat similarconstruction to that previously herein described, with the exceptionthat the cross-section of the members is circular. The outer member isprovided With a longitudinal slot-from which extend a plurality of slotsof the bayonet typewith which co-operates a radial projection on theinner member, the arrangement being such that by rotating to a smallextent the inner member carrying the radial projection the latter can bebrought into either the longitudinal slot wherein extension is permittedor into any one of the bayonet slots wherein it will be automaticallyheld by means of the spring. Means may be provided at the top of themechanism permitting the inner member which carries the radialprojection to be r0- tated when it is desired to adjust the intermediatemember of the suit-case with respect to the main portion thereof.

It is to be understood that the extensible fastening mechanism may beapplied to other purposes than in suit-cases, such for instance astables, chairs, music stands and the like which are adjustable inheight. Moreover, the mechanisms specifically described may be subjectedto various detail modifications without departing from the scope of theinvention. For instance, the detent operating member may assumedifierent forms and may itself be operable from different positions fromthose described. Thus it may be arranged to be operable from theexterior of the main portion of the suit-case or the in- {ermediateportion thereof or even'of the It will be understood that the hasp lockaccording to the invention may assume other forms than that specificallyhereinbefore described and the latter may be subjected to modificationsof detail, and that whilst said lock has been devised primarily forsuitcases and more particularly for suit-cases above described theimproved lock has a wider application since it may be used for securingtogether other members which move into an over-lapping positionsubstantially parallel with one another, for instance, sliding doors orshutters, lift gates and the like. It will be obvious moreover that thelatch 0r lock may be so modified that it is of the snap lock type, thatis to say, the latch is only releasable by means of the key but allowsthe suit-case to be shut at any time.

It will be understood that the hasp lock herein described is preferredsince it effectively avoids the unsightliness and the weakness as wouldarise if ordinary locks were employed necessitating the cutting away ofportions of the front of the main portion of the suit-case foraccommodating such locks when the suit case is collapsed to its smallestvolume with the skirt of the lid portion abutting against the edge ofthe main portion thereof.

I Claimas my invention:

1. An extensible fastening for a pair of relatively movable parts,comprising a pair of main telescoping members for attachment,respectively, to said parts, one of said main members having rack teeth,a pawl pivoted to the other main member, spring means normally urgingsaid pawl intoengagement with said rack to prevent relative movement ofsaid main members in one direction and yieldable to permit said pawl toride over said rack in the opposite direction; and a controlling memberfor said pawl slidable lengthwise of one of said main members andprovided with parts engageable, respectively, with one side of said pawlto hold said pawl in engagement with said rack when saidcontrolling'member is moved lengthwise of its associated telescopingmember in one direction, and with the other side of said pawl to liftsaid pawl out of engagement with said rack when said controlling memberis moved lengthwise of its associated telescoping member in the oppositedirection, said pawl being free to engage said rack when saidcontrolling member is in its intermediate position.

2. An extensible fastening for a pair of relatively movable parts,comprising a pair of relatively slidable main members one of which isprovided with a rack; a pawl carried by the other member for engagementwith said rack, said pawl having a longitu dinal slot; a shiftablecontrolling member having a portion slidable in said slot, a portionlying beneath said pawl and operative when said controlling member isshifted in one direction to lift and hold said pawl out of engagementwith said rack, and a portion operative when said controlling member isshifted in the opposite direction to engage the nose of said pawl andhold said pawl in engagement with said rack.

3. An extensible fastening for a pair of relatively movable parts,comprising a pair of main telescoping members for attachment,respectively, to said parts, one of said main members having rack teeth,a pawl pivoted to the other main member, spring means normally urgingsaid pawl into engagement with said rack to prevent relative movement ofsaid main members in one direction and yieldable to permitsaid pawl toride over said rack in the opposite direction, a controlling member forsaid pawl slidable longitudinally of one of said main-telescopingmembers and provided with parts engageable, respectively, with one sideof said pawl topositively hold same in engagement with said rack whensaid controlling member is moved longitudinally of its associated maintelescoping member in one direction, and with the other side of saidpawl to lift and hold same out of engagement with said rack when saidcontrolling member is moved longitudinally of said main telescopingmember in the opposite direction, said pawl being free to engage saidrack when said controlling member is in its intermediate position; and aspring disposed within one of said telescoping members and tending toextend said members.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name thistwent-y-ninth day of June, 1927.

JOHN FREDERICK FRANKLAND WINNING.

